This invention relates generally to kitchen utensils for straining and rinsing foods such as fruits, vegetables, pastas and the like, and more particularly, to an improved kitchen utensil known as a colander or strainer which is collapsible or foldable in a first manner for easier stowage and placement in a dishwasher or the like, and optionally foldable in another manner to provide a free standing bowl for holding fruit and the like.
It is well known to use colanders or strainers for such purposes as rinsing contaminants from fruit, vegetables and the like, and for draining water and other liquids from pastas and other foods after cooking. Typically, the known colanders have a structure which allows suspending the contents above the basin of a sink into which the rinse water or other liquid is to be drained to facilitate disposal of the liquid and prevent contamination of the contents. For instance, the colander or strainer can include a base which rests on the bottom of the sink basin. As another example, an element such as a hanger can extend upwardly from the colander or strainer for attachment to or looping over a water spigot. As a third alternative, the colander or strainer can be of sufficient extent in at least one direction such that opposite ends thereof can rest on opposite rim or edge portions of the sink for suspending a bowl portion of the colander or strainer in or over the basin.
Shortcomings found with colanders having a base include that if the base is placed in a contaminated sink basin, then onto a countertop, tabletop, or the like, the contaminant can be transferred to the countertop or tabletop. In the second instance, the means for suspension of the colander over the sink from the water spigot can slide off of or into the wrong position on the spigot, so as to interfere with easy placement of items into the colander. When suspended from the water spigot the colanders may also make it difficult to use the spigot. An important shortcoming of known colander of the third type is difficulty in stowage and placement in dishwashers and the like, due to the large extent.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a collapsible or foldable colander apparatus for straining and rinsing is disclosed. The present colander includes hingedly connected first and second rim portions hingedly movable about an axis between a generally coplanar position and a collapsed or folded position wherein the collapsed or folded rim portions are generally parallel or oriented at a small acute angle one to the other, the first and second rim portions when in the generally coplanar position defining a bowl opening. The present colander further includes a bowl portion integrally formed with, attached to, or otherwise supported by the first and second rim portions around the bowl opening in spanning relation thereto, the bowl portion including a plurality of openings therethrough for the flow of liquid. The bowl portion can be of a generally rigid construction and can be split to facilitate the hinged movement, or can be for instance a flexible net so as to be collapsible or foldable, as desired.
In another aspect of the present invention, a colander apparatus is disclosed including a rim portion extending around and defining a bowl opening, a bowl portion integrally formed with, attached to, or otherwise supported by the rim portion around the bowl opening so as to be suspended by the rim portion in or below the bowl opening, a first end portion hingedly connected to one end of the rim portion and a second end portion hingedly connected to an opposite end of the rim portion, the end portions being hingedly movable relative to the rim portion to positions angularly related thereto for supporting the colander apparatus on a generally horizontal surface with the bowl portion suspended above the surface.
In another aspect of the invention a colander apparatus for straining and rinsing is disclosed, including first and second rim portions hingedly movable between a generally coplanar position and a collapsed or folded position wherein the rim portions are generally parallel or oriented at a small acute angle one to the other, the first and second rim portions when in the generally coplanar position defining a bowl opening; and a bowl including first and second bowl portions integrally formed with or attached to the first and second rim portions respectively around the bowl opening in spanning relation thereto, the bowl portions including a plurality of openings therethrough, and the bowl portions being connected to allow the hinged movement of the rim portions.